


Beating of a Guilty Heart

by stelladelnordxd



Series: Jones and Cooper Detectives [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, episode changes, jughead/betty is already canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-25 17:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9835208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelladelnordxd/pseuds/stelladelnordxd
Summary: How does the friendship between Betty, Archie and Veronica change or differ with Betty telling Archie about her once feelings for him. And how much does going to Jughead help her?





	

_And the terrible secrets that could only be revealed by the cold steel blade of a coroner's autopsy scalpel, or the telltale beating of a guilty heart._

* * *

 

That night has her phone ringing consistently either by Archie or by Kevin and she finds it getting so much out of hand that she almost decides to turn her phone off, just wanting to go to bed early enough and not have to deal with anything from the outside world. At one point, she figures Archie will get the point if she closes her blinds and shuts off her light, thankful when he stops texting her shortly after. She's nearly asleep completely when her phone buzzes one more time and with narrowed eyes, she reads the text from Kevin, her heart beating heavily.

 _I just found Jason's drowned body. Betty – Betty, he was **shot**._ She has to read the text a few more times before she can fully understand what it's telling her, but when she does, she can't help but text him back.

 _OMG! Are you okay, Kev? Need me for moral support?_ She sends out quickly before sending out a quick IM to Juggie, noticing he's online but probably too busy writing his novel. Kevin doesn't text her back, which means he's probably being questioned by his Dad and Jughead quickly responds with a simple 'I know' and satisfied that everyone whose important to her knows, she slowly finds herself falling asleep.

***

The next day doesn't see much action for Betty, mainly because everyone she knows is busy and her mother – god forbid her damn mother – is keeping a tighter leash on her since school started. She's writing in her journal, a quick little anecdote about how boring her weekend had been when her parents come into her room, talking about having late nights for a bit. She tries not to smirk alongside her father when her mother goes on one of her tirades, wishing he wouldn't leave her alone with her mother like she so wants.  She fake listens to her mother as her Alice talks about no more Veronica or Archie, even agreeing with her before sighing in relief when her Mom finally leaves. She's just putting her journal away when her window opens to reveal the leg of Jughead.

"You're insane!" She laughs, helping Juggie out of the window and nearly losing her balance doing so, falling backwards on her bed with a 'oof'. She lets out another giggle when Jughead leans over her on her bed, kissing her lightly with a smirk.

"Like you care," he responds as she laughs and wraps her arms around his neck.

"Even if I did, I don't think I'd care too much," she states and she's blinded by the grin that shows on his face before leaning forward and kissing him lightly.  "Morning," she says after breaking away, fingers running through Juggie's locks and tugging on them slightly.

"Mornin'," he responds before sitting up and pulling her with him. They sit that way for a few moments, silence ringing out in her room and it's a position she certainly doesn't mind. She knows that if she had the will to, she'd skip school and just stay like this all day but skipping isn't really her – no matter how much she wants to.

"What's on your mind?" She hears him ask and Betty can't help the sigh as she looks at him with a smile.

"If I could, I'd spend all day with you like this," she states and she feels warmth when Jughead grins at her.

"Such a shame there's a thing called school," he whispers and Betty finds herself nodding seriously before pouting when he laughs. They're quiet for a few more minutes as Betty begins packing her school bag and she can't help the frown when she catches him staring out her window and into Archie's.

"Everything okay over there?" She finds herself asking when her bag is fully packed. She feels her heart pound in her chest when he looks at her and walks over to her, caressing her cheek. Her eyes flutter close as she breathes deeply, a small smile on her face.

"I think you should walk with Archie, today." Her eyes snap open as her mouth pouts into a frown of confusion, wondering why Jughead doesn't want to walk with her to school today.

"Just as a way for Arch to know that you're still his friend, despite everything going on between you two," Jughead states and she finds herself sighing before nodding her head softly.

"Alright. I'll see you later, then?" She asks and isn't surprised when Jughead nods, giving her a kiss goodbye before leaving out her window.

"Elizabeth, we're leaving!" She hears and she figures she may as well leave, too.

* * *

 

Ringing Archie's doorbell is weird, and she doesn't know why. She has to turn away from the door until she hears it open, steadfastly ignoring her friend's look of shock and asking if he will walk her to school.

"You need time to process," she states, trying her best to be understanding. "And I understand that. And I'm trying to separate the things that I want from what my mom wants."

"Which is?" Archie asks and she has to bite on her lower lip for a moment, wondering.

"I still want us to be friends. Best Friends." She states, looking towards him while continuing to walk to their school.

"You do?"

"Yeah." She states, a small smile on her face, not understanding _why_ Archie can't seem to understand that.

"Oh, I mean. That's great, Betty, me too." Archie ends up adding with a grin.

"I'd be lying a little if I said that it didn't hurt—"

"I'm sorry, Betty, I am. I didn't do it to be a --- a--- I don't know. I thought it would be better than in the long run—"

"And it will be, because like I said, I am seeing someone." Betty adds with a smile, trying to comfort her oldest friend. They continue their walk to school before going their separate ways for their lockers.

***

She's walking with Kevin, thoughts taking a turn when she watches Reggie bully Jughead before asking Kevin about finding Jason's body. She's slightly disappointed when he doesn't really answer her, but was expecting his blasé response nonetheless. As she walks into the office, she's a little surprised at the flowers on the desk, briefly wondering if those are for her but getting beaten to the punch by Kevin asking instead.

"Are those for Betty, Mrs. Phillips?"

"That's why I called her."

Betty arches an eyebrow when Kevin reads the card, not at all surprised that this was Veronica's doing but slightly pleased by it nonetheless.  She listens thoroughly as Veronica apologizes, listing the gifts she decided to send out and Betty can't help but glare lightly when Kevin calls her Madame Satan before forgiving the young female. She knows they're both surprised but if Betty can forgive Kevin for saying Archie and her are endgame, she should be able to forgive Veronica, especially since the young female did _nothing_ wrong.

When Veronica finally leaves, she looks towards Kevin with a scowl. "She did nothing wrong, Kevin. I'm not even interested in Archie, so making it seem like I am by being upset with her for going into the closet with him—"

"I know, I realize. I guess I also just forgot? You've been in love with Archie for so long. It just might take some getting used to."

"It's the path of least resistance, anyways," Betty states as he looks away with a sigh while she shrugs. They end up making their way to their lounge area, listening solemnly at the announcement over the PA about Jason's death, looking at one another as the announcement continues onward, wondering if anyone does know anything. Wondering if they would do anything.

Before they know it though, it's time to head to their class of the day – _chemistry_ and she chooses a seat next to Kevin, smiling softly when she feels Jughead's eyes on her right before she sits. She can't help but grin at him when he turns towards her shortly after, letting him know she caught him before it fades upon their teacher entering and everyone saying who they want to be with.

Eventually, she ends up with Veronica, who makes a statement about fate bringing them together and she can't help but look over to Jughead with a look on her face as Jughead snorts. She wonders, briefly, what Moose and Kevin are talking about before getting started on their dissection, frowning when she hears Cheryl's voice become more raised as the time goes on. She looks over to Jughead once more with another face as he shrugs in response, his own face in a weird shape.

The rest of the class goes by quickly and Betty is thankful to get to her other classes, squeezing Jughead's hand as she passes by him before one class and sneaking off to give him a quick kiss before another class, grinning as he laughs afterwards.

"Were you always this outgoing?" He asks and she shakes her head, trailing away so she can grab stuff for her next class.

That class goes by just as quickly, and then, before she knows it, she's walking the quad alongside Kevin and Veronica for lunch, meeting up with Archie, laughing as Kevin explains what Moose wanted before placing his foot into his mouth. Twice.

***

She's listening to his new song, and she doesn't understand why he has to think about anything in regards to their friendship. Is it because of some absurd reason of him always thinking she'd be in love with him? She just doesn't understand and when he questions her about it –

"I'm supposed to say yes. That's what the nice girl always says, but – no, I'm not. I want to be, I thought I could be –" she finishes, standing up and walking away, not at all surprised when Archie comes after her. She wants to ignore him but for the sake of their friendship.

"No. When I think, Archie, of where I feel safest and most myself, I think of us, in a booth, at Pop's. Where I can tell you anything." She nearly sobs, looking away, wishing Jughead was with her to lend her strength. "But that's not true anymore, all because you 'need time' to accept the fact that I'm no longer in love with you and have moved on." She watches as he opens and closes his mouth and she knows she's right, and that hurts her like hell. Because if her best friend expected her to stay in love with him, to pine after him – could she have really trusted him? She doesn't know what to say, what to add, so she just turns around and walks away, thankful that the principal is making his way over to Archie. Briefly, she notices the look of Kevin and Veronica, and she knows she's going to have to explain, but for now, she needs Jughead.

***

It takes her a few minutes to find her boyfriend, and by the time she does, she's nearly sobbing as she reaches him, coming from the direction of the music room. She can tell that he immediately knows something's wrong, the way his arms open wide as she throws herself into them. She doesn't have to say anything, knows that she's not ready and knows that Jughead's fine with that. She'll tell him when she's ready.

He's rubbing her back carefully, kissing the top of her head lightly as he quietly soothes her and eventually, Betty finds herself calming, a deep sigh being released as she steps back and rubs her eyes.

"M'sorry about your shirt," she whispers, and she smiles lightly when Jughead chuckles.

"It's fine. You know I don't care if it means getting whatever has hurt you out of your system," Jughead whispers and Betty smiles once more before leaning forward and kissing him softly.

"Thank you." She says and he nods.

"You have cheerleading after school, right?" He asks and she nods, remembering the pep rally they have later.

"I'll see you later then," He adds and Betty nods, hugging him for a few moments before letting him go.

* * *

 

She's at cheerleading practice, her heart not nearly in it as it should be but she lets it go, listening to Cheryl briefly before getting lost in her thoughts. She'd rather be at home, or with Jughead but she can happily stay loose and limber until then.

And then Veronica is next to her, and she doesn't know why, doesn't understand why she's being so rude to her friend, especially when she's maintained that her new friend has done nothing wrong. And then somehow, she's blaming the failings of friendship with Archie on her and _woah_ , this isn't going anywhere good and she needs to stop herself.

And then suddenly, she's inviting Cheryl over for mani-pedis and what is seriously wrong with her? Why is she doing this?

She has no idea, and she needs Jughead for help now more than ever.

* * *

 

The cheer meet ends fast after that, and she's thankful for the few moments of silence so she can text Juggie.

_You need to stop me._

_Apparently, I'm a monster._

_I pretty much blamed Veronica for ruining my friendship with Archie, which makes **no** sense._

_Oh, and, I invited Cheryl over. For mani-pedis._

_Stop me now, Jughead._

She sends the texts quickly, knowing he'll be slightly annoyed but will end up laughing at the dilemma she's put herself in. She doesn't have to wait too long for his response, thankfully, and it even gets her laughing a little.

_I fear it's too late, Betts. You're in for it now. Good luck with **that**._

She finds herself smiling before her phone pings one more time and her doorbell rings. She briefly hears her mom greeting Cheryl, can hear them walking up the steps to her room as she reads the next text.

_And just apologize to Veronica when all is said and done. I'm sure miss 'fate brought us together' will forgive you ;)_

She chuckles at this before putting her phone away and dealing with Cheryl.

***

And, deal with Cheryl, she does. By the time Cheryl's actually gone, a mere fifteen minutes later, Betty finds herself in a state of shock, eyes wide as her heart pounds in her chest. She remains like that even when her window opens and Jughead makes his way into her room, frowning upon seeing her.

"Are you alright?" He whispers while shutting her window and the curtains before making his way towards her, caressing her cheek as she lets out an exhale of breath. Betty finds herself blinking for a few moments as she looks up at Jughead before pulling him to her bed and snuggling up to him. She's quiet for more than five minutes, breathing in and out as she tries to figure out how to tell him that she's scared of herself, but –

"I threatened to kill Cheryl Blossom," she whispers. She feels Jughead tense and pull away lightly to get a better look at her and she feels shame coursing through her body.

"How exactly did you threaten to kill Cheryl Blossom?" Jughead finally asks and Betty bites on her lower lip before explaining the entire thing, thankful when he rubs her back once more. When she's finally finished telling him everything, she waits quietly and subdued, wanting to know his thoughts but also not wanting to know, in case he judges her about it.

"Well, she obviously touched upon a very touchy subject with you. But just because you threaten to do something doesn't mean you'll actually do it, babe," Jughead whispers, looking down at Betty in her bed as she bites her lower lip and nods slowly.

"It scares me. If I do go that far – how could I ever come back from that?"

"You'll have me," he whispers, kissing the top of her head before kissing her eyes, and then her nose, and then her mouth. Eventually, the slow kisses become a little more heated and they continue to make out for a good amount of time before the slamming of a car door jolts them apart.

"Want me to stay the night?" Jughead whispers and Betty nods, grabbing a pair of pyjama's before heading towards the bathroom.

"I'll be back in a few moments," she whispers, before leaving. When she finally returns, she's not surprised to find Jughead in his own pj's, her bed-spread un-made and a space open for her in his arms, which she happily snuggles into. She sets her alarm last minute, knowing if her Mom walks in on them she'll be furious and eventually, the two fall asleep.

* * *

 

Her alarm wakes her up the next morning just as it should and she can't help the groan that escapes her as she snuggles into Jughead's body, not wanting to wake up.  She feels him running his fingers throughout her hair and snuggles in closer to him before her eyes widen and she smirks up at him.

"Someone's awake." She giggles as Jughead turns bright red.

"Not all that surprising, is it?" He asks while Betty herself turns red. She looks away briefly before he brings her eyes back to him and kisses her lightly, aware of morning breath.

"You're beautiful. And as much as I'd _love_ to stay here in bed with you all morning—"

"My mom will be arriving soon," she giggles as Jughead nods. Slowly, they begin to change from their PJ's into their actual clothes – Jughead in the bathroom since he knows Betty's mom isn't awake yet – and then he has one leg out of her window and her heart clenches slightly before she kisses him once more.

"See you later?"

"Definitely," he states before leaving her window as she smiles softly and sits down at her desk, ready to write in her diary.

***

She's not surprised when her Mom comes in, but she is surprised when she questions her Mom or suggests that she go see Polly. She's tired of her Mom emotionally hurting her but she lets it go as she makes her way to school, avoiding the rain clouds as best as she can.

When she's finally at school, she's thankful that Veronica's locker is right across from hers because she knows now is the best time to apologize. She does so, wrinkling her nose when Veronica mentions Archie loving her before heading towards the lounge for the pre-class start with Kevin and Veronica, rolling her eyes at Reggie's statements.

She finds herself clenching her fists when Reggie goes in on Jughead, wanting to prove him wrong before letting Jughead handle this himself, knowing he can. She's a little startled when Reggie goes in to hurt Juggie but remains tense, even when Archie gets in the middle of it and pushes Reggie. She briefly stands up after Archie is pushed into the vending machine and when Jughead is trying to get Reggie off of Archie – and someone is on Jughead trying to get _him_ off of Reggie, but –

She sees the punch thrown and finds herself flinching, not surprised when she hears a loud, "hey!" and looks towards the teacher with a cringe.

"Shit," someone states while Reggie pants and Archie groans.

* * *

 

The rest of the day goes by fast, and she doesn't really get to see Jughead throughout the day, and she finds herself wondering if he was put on a one-day suspension. She hopes not but she can't really ask before the pep-rally, where he waves to her briefly when she spots him. She's thankful that he made it, unsure if he would even come but grinning when he does.

She spots Archie and finds herself cringing at his eye, touching it lightly as he backs away and looking down, uncomfortable with the situation they're in. She lets him be taken away before she walks towards the cheerleaders, ready to put on a show, actually smiling throughout when she feels Juggie's eyes on her. She finds herself frowning when Cheryl runs away, into the field and towards the changing rooms. She watches as Veronica goes after Cheryl before Betty decides she better join them. She's too late in arriving though, which isn't the biggest surprise, staying back as Veronica comforts Cheryl before walking away.

It doesn't take her long to find Veronica after the rally, inviting her friend for a milkshake at Pop's, feeling comfortable to do so. She giggles a little before holding up her milkshake in a deal to never let boys come between them again, which Betty definitely doesn't see happening any time soon. She hears the bell above the door ring and doesn't think anything of it until she notices Ronnie's face, in which case she turns around before turning back to Ronnie with a smile. She turns back around, and she notices Jughead looking at her like – well, it takes her breath away. He's looking at her like she's all he sees and she's taken him to a place no one else can take him to. And _shit_ , she thinks, turning red.

"Do you guys want to join us?" She asks, her heart beating heavily in her chest as she waits for a reply.

"Yes. But only if you're treating," Jughead responds with a soft grin, ignoring Veronica's handshake and climbing over the booth before introducing himself. She finds herself giggling throughout, waggling her finger at him as he laughs.

The night goes on for them and Archie's asking her if she needs a walk home but Betty shakes her head, saying she'll leave in a little bit. Archie finds himself nodding before he and Veronica leave a little while later and Betty smiles at her boyfriend.

The end to a perfect night, she thinks as she moves to sit next to him, to cuddle up with him for a bit.

* * *

 

_For one shining moment, we were just kids, those bright neon lights of Pop's keeping the darkness at bay. Giving way, as all nights must, to a morning of reckoning._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm, admittedly, super surprised I managed to write and post this in one day. I've been sick all week so between work, prompts and my sickness, this was the first day I could truly sit down and re-watch episode two and write this. It's much shorter than Part 1 -- about half of the size, but I hope all of you enjoy it :) Don't be afraid to leave reviews or come talk to me about it on my tumblr (juggycooper).


End file.
